Talk:The Nose (Gogol short story)

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1. I believe that the sources currently being used for the article are reliable. These sources either come from reputable news sites, such as the BBC, or peer-reviewed academic journals. One issue with the sources is that there are only five of them. Considering how long The Nose has been in print, there should be more literature available to be used as sources. 2. The topic is not sufficiently covered. The introduction needs to have additional information about the background of the work. There should be a section about the creation of the work as well covering things like the inspiration and writing process behind the story. The plot summary should be expanded with more details. There should be a section on the characters, and a short analysis of each. The structure of the story needs to have a section as well. There needs to be an entire section on the symbolism found in the story and a brief analysis of what each of the symbols means. Another section that should be added is themes. Major theme sin the story should be added here. The “Critical Assessment” portion of the article needs to be expanded to discuss the reception of the work. There also needs to be a section listing adaptations of this story into other mediums such as film. 3. 3. I believe that the topic is covered objectively because most of the information on the page is a summary on the plot of the story. The analysis portions of the article are very fair and balanced as well. 4. I believe that the article is well organized in structure, but needs a lot of additional information to fill in missing gaps in information. There also needs to be additional analysis done. 5. The grammar and style of the article are in line with other articles found on Wikipedia. 6. There are not any accompany images, and several should be added to demonstrate the different interpretations of the story. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nathan.lin.18 (talkcontribs) 22:26, 28 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]


Wikipedia Article Bibliography Blair, Clifford F. "Elements of Fantasy and Semiotic Code for Fractured Identity in Gogol’s “The Nose”." Perspectives Student Journal (n.d.): n. pag. BYU. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://germslav.byu.edu/perspectives/2004/Blair_C.pdf>.

Bowman, Herbert E. "The Nose." The Slavic and East European Journal 31.76 (1952): 204-11. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4204413?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>.

Friedman, Paul. "The Nose: Some Psychological Reflections." American Imago 8.4 (1951): 337-51. ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/1289739313/citation/77C78CE003EA443BPQ/1?accountid=10422>.

Hardy, James D., and Leonard Stanton. "Magical Realism in the Tales of Nikolai Gogol." (n.d.): n. pag. LSU. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://66.241.215.128/5-2/hardystanton.pdf>.

Kelly, Michael R. "Restoring the Disfigured Human Image: A Gogolian Slap in the Face and Moral Responsibility." The Russian Review 68.2 (2009): 302-20. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://ry2ue4ek7d.search.serialssolutions.com/?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The%20Russian%20Review&rft.atitle=Restoring%20the%20Disfigured%20Human%20Image%3A%20A%20Gogolian%20Slap%20in%20the%20Face%20and%20Moral%20Responsibility&rft.volume=68&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=302&rft.epage=320&rft.date=2009-04-01&rft.issn=0036-0341&rft.eissn=1467-9434&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fwiley.com%3AOnlineLibrary>.

Klymentiev, Maksym. "The Dark Side of "The Nose": The Paradigms of Olfactory Perception in Gogols "The Nose"" Canadian Slavonic Papers 51 (2009): 223-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40871408?pq-origsite=summon&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>.

Seifrid, Thomas. "Suspicison toward Narrative: The Nose and the Problem of Autonomy in Gogol's 'Nos'" The Russian Review 52.3 (1993): 382-96. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://ry2ue4ek7d.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Suspicison+toward+Narrative%3A+The+Nose+and+the+Problem+of+Autonomy+in+Gogol%27s+%27Nos%27&rft.jtitle=The+Russian+Review%3A+An+American+Quarterly+Devoted+to+Russia+Past+and+Present&rft.au=Seifrid%2C+Thomas&rft.date=1993&rft.issn=1467-9434&rft.eissn=1467-9434&rft.volume=52&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=382&rft.externalDocID=R02904871¶mdict=en-US>.


Sicher, Efraim. "Dialogization and Laughter in the Dark, or How Gogol's Nose Was Made: Parody and Literary Evolution in Bachtin's Theory of the Novel." Elsevier 28.2 (1990): 211-33. Science Direct. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304347905801188>.

Spycher, Peter C. "N. V. Gogol's "The Nose": A Satirical Comic Fantasy Born of an Impotence Complex." The Slavic and East European Journal 7.4 (1963): 361-74. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/305434?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>.

Yasmeen, Shareefa, and Mizanur Rahman. "Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose: An Abstract Satire." SUST Journal of Social Sciences 22.2 (2014): 71-74. SUST. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://sustjournals.org/uploads/archive/0e121e140062e77c90edb2e501464643.pdf>. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nathan.lin.18 (talkcontribs) 04:09, 7 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]


One of the themes of Nikolai Gogol’s short story “The Nose” is that of contradictions and inconsistencies. Gogol uses this element as a semiotic code to emphasize the fractured identity of the main character, This imbalance in Kovalyov’s personality is most apparent in the emphasis that he places on outward appearance. he nevertheless refuses to give his name out of pride, fearing that his worthy acquaintances may discover his uncomfortable situation. Yet he does not consider how anyone might be able to present him the nose without knowing who he is The collegiate assessor’s private and public faces seem almost unrelated. Collegiate Assessor Kovalev is an example of those corrupt officials who lives grandly in the society. He calls himself Major Kovalev, and in a grand manner addresses women as prostitutes and invites them to his home. What he does with his nose on he cannot do anymore except it. The Major has two main objectives—to get promotion and to marry well. Kovalev’s fake title ‘major’ shows his lack of dignity Kovalev’s nose is probably the symbol of his snobbish attitude with which he keeps himself high. This man is neither big in his profession nor in his manners, but this does not reflect because seemingly he carries on a different identity. And the fake identity he can keep only with his nose on As a literary theme, the nose had been treated by Russian authors at least ever since the translation, completed in 1807, of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, in which the subject of noses is elaborately dealt with, especially in 'Slawkenbergius's Tale'. Noses, and even heads, which run about on their own, which disappear and then re? turn, which are even baked in bread (as in Part I of Gogol"s story), are to be found in Russian literature of the 1820's and 1830's.9

He is the world's slave and the world's darling. His objectives in life are chiefly two?to win promotion and to marry 'well'. All the major's characteristics conduce to turning him into an epitome?the typical man of ambition, with all the hackneyed attitudes that belong to the world of appearance, whose creature he is. Although required to move through the thin air of purest fantasy, he is the very embodiment of a moral type. He is a major not only without a nose, but without any face at all. Nikolai s shortale"TheNose"hasbaffled criticseversinceit Gogol" literary in in 1836. all theorieasnd were appeared print Practically literary approaches triedon thetextto yieldsome meaningout of its patentlack of logic and the touchstonfeor of sense,making story generations literary common the scholar — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nathan.lin.18 (talkcontribs) 00:01, 15 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]


Outline Lead Section – I plan on lengthening this section, which will give it more background information on the story, and gives a few details about Gogol as well to place the story within the context of his larger body of work regarding Petersburg. I have added the following section. "The Nose" is divided into three parts and tells the story of a Collegiate Assessor who wakes up without his nose. He later finds out that his nose has developed a life of his own, and may have even surpassed the Collegiate Assessor in social rank. The short story showcases the obsession with social rank that plagued Russia, after Peter the Great introduced the table of ranks. By allowing commoners to gain hereditary nobility through service to the state, an entire population was given the chance to move up in social status. This opportunity, however, also gave way to incredibly bloated bureaucracies, in which many of Gogol's characters work.

Plot – I plan on extending this section as well to make the plot summary more in-depth and add more details about what happens in the story. I have added the following sections. Ivan's wife demands that Ivan remove the nose from her home, so he wraps it up in cloth and attempts to throw it off a bridge. He tries to get rid of it by throwing it in the Neva River, but he is caught by a police officer. Ivan attempts to bribe the police officer, but the officer refuses. On the way to the chief of police, Major Kovalyov sees his nose dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking official. Kovalyov becomes distracted by a pretty girl that arrives at the Cathedral, and while he is not watching, the nose escapes. Kovalyov attempts to contact the chief of police, but he is not home, so he visits the newspaper office to place an ad about the loss of his nose, but is refused. He then speaks to a police inspector who also refuses to help. Finally, Kovalyov returns home. Kovalyov returns to his flat, where the police officer who caught Ivan finds him and returns the nose (which he caught at a coach station, trying to flee the city). The next day, Kovalyov writes a letter to Madam Podtochina Grigorievna, a woman who wants him to marry her daughter, and accuses her of stealing his nose; he believes that she has placed a curse on him for his fickleness toward her daughter. He writes to ask her to undo the spell, but she misinterprets the letter as a proposal to her daughter. Her reply convinces him that she is innocent.

Characters – I plan on adding a section that lists the major characters in the story and giving a short description of their role in the story. I have added the following sections. Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov - the main character of the story is a civil servant with an average rank. He is obsessed with his rank, and one day, we wakes up to find his nose missing. The Nose - this character is a body part that is personified in the story. By the way it is dressed, it seems to have achieved a higher rank of civil service than Kovalyov, himself. Ivan Yakovlevitch - he is the barber who finds the nose in his bread. He attempts to throw out the nose into the river. When the nose is miraculously reattached to Kovalyov again, he comes to Ivan to get shaved. Newspaper Advertising Clerk - he is who Kovalyov contacts to get an ad in the paper about his missing nose. When the newspaper advertising clerk first hears about the story, he is unable to understand what has happened. He rejects Kovalyov's ad because he believes that the ridiculousness of the story will make the newspaper look too sensational. Madame Podtochina - she is the mother of the girl that Kovalyov has been flirting with for some time. He refuses to propose to her because he believes he can marry someone even better, so Madame Pottochina is constantly bugging him about marrying her daughter.

Analysis – This section will be lengthened to add additional insights about the story and will have information from a larger pool of resources. I will be adding the following information to mostly analysis sections, but some parts may also be added to other sections of the article. One of the themes of Nikolai Gogol’s short story “The Nose” is that of contradictions and inconsistencies. Gogol uses this element as a semiotic code to emphasize the fractured identity of the main character. This imbalance in Kovalyov’s personality is most apparent in the emphasis that he places on outward appearance. He nevertheless refuses to give his name out of pride, fearing that his worthy acquaintances may discover his uncomfortable situation. Yet he does not consider how anyone might be able to present him the nose without knowing who he is. The collegiate assessor’s private and public faces seem almost unrelated. Collegiate Assessor Kovalev is an example of those corrupt officials who lives grandly in the society. He calls himself Major Kovalev, and in a grand manner addresses women as prostitutes and invites them to his home. What he does with his nose on he cannot do anymore except it. The Major has two main objectives—to get promotion and to marry well. Kovalev’s fake title ‘major’ shows his lack of dignity. Kovalev’s nose is probably the symbol of his snobbish attitude with which he keeps himself high. This man is neither big in his profession nor in his manners, but this does not reflect because seemingly he carries on a different identity. As a literary theme, the nose had been treated by Russian authors at least ever since the translation, completed in 1807, of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy, in which the subject of noses is elaborately dealt with, especially in 'Slawkenbergius's Tale'. Noses, and even heads, which run about on their own, which disappear and then re? turn, which are even baked in bread (as in Part I of Gogol"s story), are to be found in Russian literature of the 1820's and 1830's. He is the world's slave and the world's darling. His objectives in life are chiefly to win promotion and to marry 'well'. All the major's characteristics conduce to turning him into an epitome of the typical man of ambition, with all the hackneyed attitudes that belong to the world of appearance, whose creature he is. Although required to move through the thin air of purest fantasy, he is the very embodiment of a moral type. He is a major not only without a nose, but without any face at all. Nikolai’s short tale "The Nose” has baffled critics ever since 1836.

Themes – This section will be added to feature some of the major themes of the story, and each of these themes will be further elaborated on. Other, more symbolic ways of interpreting this text reveal commentary on society and class, identity, and the supernatural. Society and class played a very important role in determining one's life during the time of Gogol.[5] With the introduction of the Table of Ranks by Peter the Great, a whole new portion of the population was able to move up socially if they worked hard enough. In a society that was obese with status, people had to always look their best and prioritize their outside appearance. When Major Kovalev sees his own nose dressed in the uniform of a higher ranking official than himself, he is momentarily embarrassed and unable to approach the nose. Even within the context of a ridiculous scenario, feelings of inferiority and jealousy still manage to creep into Major Kovalev's mind.[5] The theme if identity also plays into this story, and is highlighted by how the nose is both easy to identify and hard to identify at various points in the story.[6] The barber notices the owner of the nose very quickly when he sees it. However, the nose is able to slip away from Kovalev by disguising itself as a doctor. This back and forth between the identity of the nose further emphasizes how Gogol's Petersburg valued outward appearance much more than one's true identity. The supernatural also comes into play in this story. The nose is able to transform its size depending on what is needed to further the plot.[5] Sometimes, it is portrayed as the size of a common nose, while other times, it is portrayed as the same size as a human. This strange ability plays into the absurdity of the story and adds to the comedic tone.

Symbolism – This section will be added to compile a lost of major symbols in the story and how they are relevant to the social commentary in the story. The most important symbols that will be discussed is the nose.

Critical Assessment - This section will be lengthened to add addition critical assessments to the existing one. It has been difficult finding more critical assessments of the story. Many of the existing critiques of the story are very similar and do not provide significant unique insight.

Adaptations – This section will also be lengthened to incorporate the additional adaptions that are not already listed. Some of the adaptations I will be listing include newer performances of the story as a play. They will be in a list that lists any important deviations from the original story.

References – This section will be lengthened to account for the additional works that are being cited. I will be adding the following citations.

Blair, Clifford F. "Elements of Fantasy and Semiotic Code for Fractured Identity in Gogol’s “The Nose”." Perspectives Student Journal (n.d.): n. pag. BYU. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://germslav.byu.edu/perspectives/2004/Blair_C.pdf>.

Bowman, Herbert E. "The Nose." The Slavic and East European Journal 31.76 (1952): 204-11. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4204413?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>. Friedman, Paul. "The Nose: Some Psychological Reflections." American Imago 8.4 (1951): 337-51. ProQuest. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/1289739313/citation/77C78CE003EA443BPQ/1?accountid=10422>. Hardy, James D., and Leonard Stanton. "Magical Realism in the Tales of Nikolai Gogol." (n.d.): n. pag. LSU. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://66.241.215.128/5-2/hardystanton.pdf>. Kelly, Michael R. "Restoring the Disfigured Human Image: A Gogolian Slap in the Face and Moral Responsibility." The Russian Review 68.2 (2009): 302-20. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://ry2ue4ek7d.search.serialssolutions.com/?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The%20Russian%20Review&rft.atitle=Restoring%20the%20Disfigured%20Human%20Image%3A%20A%20Gogolian%20Slap%20in%20the%20Face%20and%20Moral%20Responsibility&rft.volume=68&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=302&rft.epage=320&rft.date=2009-04-01&rft.issn=0036-0341&rft.eissn=1467-9434&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fwiley.com%3AOnlineLibrary>. Klymentiev, Maksym. "The Dark Side of "The Nose": The Paradigms of Olfactory Perception in Gogols "The Nose"" Canadian Slavonic Papers 51 (2009): 223-41. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40871408?pq-origsite=summon&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>. Seifrid, Thomas. "Suspicison toward Narrative: The Nose and the Problem of Autonomy in Gogol's 'Nos'" The Russian Review 52.3 (1993): 382-96. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://ry2ue4ek7d.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Suspicison+toward+Narrative%3A+The+Nose+and+the+Problem+of+Autonomy+in+Gogol%27s+%27Nos%27&rft.jtitle=The+Russian+Review%3A+An+American+Quarterly+Devoted+to+Russia+Past+and+Present&rft.au=Seifrid%2C+Thomas&rft.date=1993&rft.issn=1467-9434&rft.eissn=1467-9434&rft.volume=52&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=382&rft.externalDocID=R02904871¶mdict=en-US>. Sicher, Efraim. "Dialogization and Laughter in the Dark, or How Gogol's Nose Was Made: Parody and Literary Evolution in Bachtin's Theory of the Novel." Elsevier 28.2 (1990): 211-33. Science Direct. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304347905801188>. Spycher, Peter C. "N. V. Gogol's "The Nose": A Satirical Comic Fantasy Born of an Impotence Complex." The Slavic and East European Journal 7.4 (1963): 361-74. JSTOR. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/305434?seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents>. Yasmeen, Shareefa, and Mizanur Rahman. "Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose: An Abstract Satire." SUST Journal of Social Sciences 22.2 (2014): 71-74. SUST. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://sustjournals.org/uploads/archive/0e121e140062e77c90edb2e501464643.pdf>.

External Links – This section will be lengthened to account for more related topics to this story. I will be adding links to different translations of the story, as well as links to more information about Gogol. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nathan.lin.18 (talkcontribs) 23:12, 21 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment[edit]

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Nathan.lin.18, Ploomis, Misha.at.dartmouth.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 08:42, 18 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

This sentence doesnt make sense[edit]

"His behavior reflects the influence of vision-oriented Western culture that emphasizes deodorization and hygiene"

Deodorization doesn't really pair well with being influenced by a vision-oriented culture, like it's basically saying the opposite..?

2600:6C54:7900:D4D:E9AC:2A0:2DA4:3096 (talk) 00:00, 26 February 2022 (UTC)T[reply]